“The e-bike fulfills a dream that is changing the way the world thinks about electric transportation.” Lee Iacocca

Lee Iacocca poses with
his e-bike in front of the
PT Cruiser that he also
helped develop.

LEE & ME

Back in 2000 I was hired by Lee and
his design firm (Element18.com) to photograph the bikes and lifestyle images
for their advertising and PR needs. The
product shots were pretty normal, but
the lifestyle shots called for us to create
an image that the bikes were for everyone—students, moms, families, even more
serious riders. I have to admit that shooting
something so new and so different at the
time was really fun. Long before HaiBike,
Felt or Specialized came of age with their
e-bikes, Lee Iaccoca, the celebrated car
guy, was an e-bike pioneer who was key in
jump-starting the e-bike industry that we’re
all enjoying today. This was a big gamble,
and nobody was sure it would work.

The bikes themselves were amazing for
the time. There were three models in the
catalog: the entry-level folding Mini e-bike
that rolled on 20-inch wheels, and the 24-
and 36-volt battery bikes that pulled most
of their parts from the mountain bike world,
including their 26-inch wheels. The 36-volt
SX model was upgraded with a front disc
brake and double-crown fork.

The hardtail frames were similar in shape
to the Y-bike frame shape that had been
popularized by Trek, except Lee’s bike